Casual Gaming: Crash Course Games #11

Today, we’re moving on from game consoles to talk about a bigger shift that was happening in the gaming industry. In the mid 2000s, we saw a proliferation of Internet accessible devices and with them gaming would expand to a new audience. We’re going to talk about two types of games that are found on these devices, social and mobile games, which together we’ll call casual games. Now, the definitions of these terms can get a little muddy, as they’re continuously evolving, but largely what was seen in the industry was a widespread adoption of asynchronous, socially driven gameplay. These changes spurred the industry to change its profit model, and by 2015, these casual games now make up nearly half of all video game industry revenue. And with their easier mechanics, lower price point, and social component these casual games helped integrate gaming into our daily lives like never before.